Homo oeconomicus and homo politicus in Ecological Economics

The model of home oeconomicus has been criticised in Ecological Economics. We discuss this critique and alternative approaches that have been developed in the literature. In contrast to these approaches, which are based on Arrow's concept of the Social Welfare Function, psychology, biology, and general considerations, we propose a concept of homo politicus that is founded in political philosophy. We show that this concept is suitable for normative purposes of Ecological Economics. At the same time, we demonstrate in a case study that the concept has empirical relevance in explaining real political processes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.